NSW Parliamentary
Research Service
April 2014
e-brief 5/2014
The New England-North West
Region: An Economic Profile
by John Wilkinson
1 INTRODUCTION
2 URBAN AND REGIONAL
PROFILES
3. ECONOMIC HISTORY
4. KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
5. CONCLUSION
1
INTRODUCTION
The New England-North West region (also known as the
Northern Inland) has experienced substantial changes. During
the nineteenth century the driving forces in production and
employment were primary production and mining. During the
twentieth century the predominant area of employment became
the services sector. This e-brief examines the region, looking at
its administrative and productive structure and the influences
that currently bear on it.
In this e-brief the name “New England-North West” is used
primarily because that is the nomenclature adopted by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in its new regional
geography, which is relied on here for labour force data.
Geographically, this region is very nearly identical to the
Regional Development Australia (RDA) Northern Inland region
and therefore the two names can be used more or less
interchangeably. 1
Within the New England-North West, the two geographical
components of the region are essentially characterised by their
different forms of primary production. The contrast between the
two was summarised by Alison Kingsland:
[The New England area] of the state consists of large areas
of rugged country as well as extensive plateaux. Thus only a
relatively small area is suitable for cultivation. . .Farming on.
. . .[these] tablelands of the Great Dividing Range is based
mainly on sheep and cattle grazing. . .The undulating nature
of the [NSW North West] slopes. . .makes the area ideally
suited to agricultural pursuits. The slopes comprise. . .what
is known as the ‘wheat belt’. . . 2
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New England-North West Statistical Area 4
2
URBAN AND REGIONAL PROFILES
2.1 Urban Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Amongst the 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs) that constitute the region,
only 2 are urban: Tamworth Regional and Armidale-Dumaresq. In 2013,
Tamworth had an estimated 59,743 inhabitants and Armidale had an
estimated 25,343. Their populations, as a percentage of the entire region,
are as follows:
Tamworth Regional and Armidale-Dumaresq: Populations as % New
3
England-North West (2013 est.)
Tamworth Regional
59,743 (32.2%)
Armidale-Dumaresq
25,343 (13.7%)
2.2 Rural LGAs
The rural LGAs in the Northern Inland, and their populations as a
percentage of the region, are detailed below:
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
Rural LGA Populations in the New England-North West Region: 2013 (est.)
Population
% of Region
Inverell
16,727
9.0%
Moree
14,250
7.7%
Narrabri
13,685
7.4%
Gunnedah
12,688
6.8%
Glen Ines
8,905
4.8%
Liverpool Plains
7,763
4.2%
Tenterfield
6,973
3.8%
Uralla
6,370
3.4%
Gwydir
5,104
2.8%
Guyra
4,645
2.4%
Walcha
3,087
1.6%
4
2.3 Geographical and Commercial Features
The geographical and commercial features of the region’s LGAs are listed
in descending population order, as follows:
Tamworth Regional LGA spans an area of 9,892 square kilometres. It was
formed (during the term of the Carr Government) through the amalgamation
of the city of Tamworth with the LGAs of Barraba, Manilla, Nundle and
Parry. 5 Major employers include BAE; Cargill; NSW Health; and Thomas
Foods. 6
Armidale-Dumaresq LGA covers an area of 4,236 square kilometres. 7
Education is a major employing industry in Armidale. In 2012 the University
of New England (UNE) employed 462 full-time equivalent (FTE) academic
staff and 634 FTE general staff. 8
Inverell LGA spans an area of 8,606 square kilometres. 9 The largest
company, in the LGA, is Bindaree Beef: employing over 600 people. Other
prominent employers include BOSS Engineering; Inverell Truck and Diesel
Repairs; Inverell Freighters; Best Employment; and the McLean Memorial
Retirement Village. 10
Moree Plains LGA occupies an area of 17,930 square kilometres. 11
Significant employers include Auscott; Australian Food and Fibre;
GrainCorp; and Seery Partnership. 12
Narrabri LGA spans an area of 13,028 square kilometres. 13 Companies
operating in the Narrabri area include Auscott; Cargill; Glencore;
GrainCorp; Idemitsu; Santos; and Whitehaven Coal. 14
Gunnedah LGA spans an area of 4,994 square kilometres. 15 Significant
employers include Fourways Haulage; Gunnedah Leather Processors;
Gunnedah Timbers; NSW TAFE; Pryde’s Easifeed; and Whitehaven
Coal. 16
Glen Innes Severn LGA occupies an area of 5,487 square kilometres. 17
Sizeable companies, in the LGA, include Eastmon Photo; Rangers Valley
Feedlot; and Roseneath retirement village. 18
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Liverpool Plains LGA covers an area of 5,087 square kilometres. 19 It was
formed (during the term of the Carr Government) through alterations to the
boundaries of the previous Gunnedah, Murrurundi, Parry and Quirindi local
government areas. The LGA administration is based in Quirindi. Larger
employers include Bayliss Trading; Case; John Deere; North West Farm
Machinery; Pursehouse Rural; and Whitehaven Coal. 20
Tenterfield LGA occupies an area of 7,322 square kilometres. 21 Most
employment is provided by small operators. Some of the more sizeable are
Bro’Neills Electrical Contractors and Darryl McCarthy Contractors. The
Haddington and Millrace homes provide employment in aged care. 22
Uralla LGA spans an area of 3,229 square kilometres. 23 Employers are
small in nature. Amongst the more prominent are the Phoenix Foundry and
McMaugh Gardens retirement village. 24
Gwydir LGA occupies an area of 9,274 square kilometres. It was formed in
2004 from an amalgamation of Bingara and Yallaroi shire councils as well
as an incorporation of 40% of Barraba shire council. 25 Businesses are small
in size. The council offices are in Bingara, but Warialda has almost an
equal population. A significant degree of employment is provided by the
Naroo and Touriandi aged care facilities. 26
Guyra LGA covers an area of 4,394 square kilometres. 27 The biggest
individual employer is the Costa Group (employing around 200 people). 28
Walcha LGA covers an area of 6,266 square kilometres. 29 All businesses
are of a smaller nature. Some of the more prominent include Betts
Transport and Brian Smith Timber Transport. Apsley Riverview Hostel
provides employment in aged care. 30
The 13 LGAs, in terms of their individual gross regional product (GRP),
their number of businesses and their unemployment rates, are as follows:
LGAs in the New England-North West Region: Gross Regional
31
Product/Number of Businesses/Unemployment Rate (2011-12 est.)
GRP
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Businesses
Unemployment Rate (%)
Tamworth
$2.4 bn
5,603
6.3
Armidale
$1 bn
2,314
5.9
Narrabri
$846m
1,512
5.2
Moree
$745m
1,657
8.4
Gunnedah
$608m
1,250
6.5
Inverell
$582m
1,588
7.9
L’Pool Plains
$359m
971
6.6
Glen Innes
$295m
1,145
8.3
Tenterfield
$197m
906
7.3
Gwydir
$166m
713
4.5
Uralla
$162m
720
5.2
Guyra
$157m
642
8.1
Walcha
$145m
709
3.8
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
3. ECONOMIC HISTORY
3.1 The Nineteenth Century
Sparse Settlement on Large Holdings (Woolgrowing). Woolgrowing was
the principal activity in the New England-North West from the 1820s to the
end of the nineteenth century and brought prosperity to the region: but drew
only a comparatively small number of people to the area. Woolgrowers
thrived as the colony became integrated into the world economy. In a space
of ten years, from the 1820s to the 1830s, exports from NSW and
Tasmania formed 12% of Britain’s wool imports. 32 Woolgrowing employed
relatively few people. While in the shearing season 20 or 30 shearers (and
ancillary workers) might work on a station, during the 1850s (for instance)
an average of between 6 to 7 shepherds were employed full-time on each
run. 33 Fred Gruen pointed to the relatively small number of woolgrowers in
NSW with flocks of more than 20,000 sheep each (only 750 in total) who
dominated the industry at the beginning of the 1890s: accounting for “over
38.5 million sheep” out of a total flock of 62 million. 34 At the end of the
1890s, wool exports constituted 50% (by value) of all the colony’s exports.
New England at this point in time, as R.B Walker later commented, “was
still overwhelmingly a region of fine-woolled merinos.” 35
Beef cattle production began about at the same time as woolgrowing.
Around the Liverpool Plains alone, by 1861, there were 200,000 cattle (as
against 746,000 sheep). 36
More Intensive Settlement on Smaller Holdings (Wheatgrowing). As
land became available to small-scale primary producers, wheat growing
expanded. Bruce Davidson wrote that in the 1890s “A selector on a 640acre cleared holding, carrying one sheep per acre, could only expect a net
return of £72 per annum. The same selector growing 200 acres of wheat
could expect a net return of £205 per annum.” 37 Wheat production (largely
in the districts around Tamworth) expanded slowly during the mid-1800s
and then gradually accelerated. Between 1881 and 1891, wheat output,
from the Tamworth sector of the New England-North West, rose more than
seven fold: from 3,088 tonnes to 29,700 tonnes. 38 By 1898 New South
Wales became a net exporter of wheat. Eventually, during the twentieth
century, NSW would rank second (amongst the states) in wheat
production. 39
Population Acceleration via Mining. Rapid population growth only truly
occurred with the discovery of minerals: a development, however, that was
mainly short-term. Between the 1840s and the 1850s, around 4,500 miners
arrived in the vicinity of Uralla when gold was discovered near the Rocky
River. In the 1870s, thousands of miners once more arrived when tin was
discovered at Tingha (south of Inverell); at Elsmore (east of Inverell); and
then at Emmaville (between Glen Innes and Tenterfield). Over 20 years,
the population in this locality increased to 4,000 (amongst whom were 900
Chinese miners). In 1883 production reached its maximum (9,125 tons
extracted during the year): making New England, momentarily, the largest
tin producing location in the world. In 1895 the Gunnedah Colliery
Company opened a small coal mine just outside the town. 40 The mineral
deposits that brought people to the region largely petered out by the end of
the nineteenth century. The Uralla gold seam was essentially dug out by
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the 1890s. A global slump in the 1890s caused the price of tin to crash,
effectively destroying the New England tin fields. 41
Emergence of Manufacturing. Basic manufacturing of consumption items
emerged, in both Tamworth and Armidale, during the second half of the
1800s. One manufacturer, however, expanded dramatically (in tandem with
the expanding production of wheat) to become the pre-eminent concern in
Tamworth. Two flour mills were established in the town during the late
1860s: at one, of which, the renowned miller George Fielder began his
career. In the early 1890s Fielder acquired control of a mill of his own,
naming the firm Fielder and Son. 42
Emergence of a Services Sector. Activity in what is currently classified as
the “services sector” emerged during the 1850s. 43 By 1850 the colonial
government had completed a road from Muswellbrook through Tamworth
on to Armidale and Tenterfield. 44 Banks opened in Tamworth during the
1850s and in Armidale between the 1860s and the 1880s. 45 In 1878 the
railway, from Newcastle, was extended to Tamworth (and then to Armidale
in 1883). Between 1867 and 1879, 26 public schools were established in
the area between Armidale and Tenterfield. The first school in Tamworth
was established in 1856 (rebuilt and expanded in 1877). Between the
1870s and the 1880s over 20 Catholic girls schools were opened in the
New England North West. 46 The first hospital in Armidale was established
in 1853; the first hospital in Tamworth was opened three years later. 47 In
1885 a gas works was established in Tamworth and, three years later, the
same town became the first municipality amongst all the colonies to install
electric street lighting: using water, from the Peel River, for a powerhouse. 48
At the end of the 1800s, Tamworth was slowly emerging as the leading
town (by population) in the New England-North West. In 1901 Tamworth
had a population of 5,799 (compared to Armidale’s population of 4,200). 49
3.2 Emergence/Decline of the New State Separation Movement
in the Twentieth Century
In the first half of the twentieth century, the New England-North West
became part of a separation movement, in northern NSW. In 1915, while
war raged in Europe, a dispute erupted between Grafton Council and
Holman’s ALP NSW Government over who should maintain a ferry service
across the Clarence River. In response a Grafton alderman (and surgeon),
Dr. Earle Page, founded a Northern NSW Separation League. Page’s
departure for the war contributed to the issue momentarily subsiding, but
agitation revived after the war and grew with the support of the Country
Party (formed in 1920) of which Page was a founding member. In 1933 (a
year after the dismissal of Jack Lang), Premier Bertram Stevens appointed
Harold Nicholas MLC to head a Royal Commission into the possible
boundaries for new states (although he was not empowered to pass
judgment on the desirability of their formation). In his report, delivered in
1935, he suggested boundaries for 3 new states, with one boundary
containing a northern area including Newcastle. Nicholas’s suggestions,
however, were not taken up. Three years after the end of the Second World
War, a conference was held in Armidale to examine decentralisation and, a
year later, another meeting was held (addressed by Page) which launched
the New England New State Movement. In 1967, two years after gaining
office in NSW, Sir Robert Askin’s Liberal Party-Country Government held a
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
referendum amongst those people living inside the boundary that Nicholas
had suggested might form a new northern state. The majority voted “no”
and the separation movement died away. 50
3.3 Government Assistance in the Twentieth Century –
Countering Downturns
Between the 1920s and the 1970s, state and federal governments
introduced marketing boards to uphold prices received by producers.
Boards (and similar organisations) established, over the fifty-year period,
included the Egg Marketing Board (1928), the Australian Wheat Board
(1948) and the Australian Wool Corporation (1970). During the second half
of the twentieth century, and into the early years of the twenty-first century,
these (and many other boards) were abolished: the NSW Egg Corporation
(the successor to the Egg Marketing Board) in 1989; the Australian Wool
Corporation in 1991; and the Australian Wheat Board (losing its control
over domestic prices in 1989, and its control over export prices in 2008). 51
The thrust of this policy of deregulation, as discussed in this e-brief, was to
restructure agriculture from primary production undertaken by individual
producers towards agribusiness (integrated production driven by
companies).
Government assistance has also been provided to individual firms:
particularly during downturns in activity. As Roy Powell has pointed out,
In the decades to 2001. . .[in] the Namoi [area]. . .There was
restructuring of coal mining, meat processing, electricity distribution,
transport and communications and banking that resulted in job
losses. 52
Assistance has been relatively small (and sometimes ineffectual). A year
after gaining office, the Askin state government obtained passage of the
State Development and Country Industries Assistance Fund Act 1966 and
the Country Industry Payroll Tax Rebate Act 1966. Under this legislation,
amongst the costs necessary for a firm to relocate to a regional centre, the
state government would lend 60% and the relevant local government would
lend 30%. Qualified rebates, on payroll tax, were also available to firms
relocating to regional areas. The amounts of money lent were modest. In
1965-66 the Country Industries Assistance Fund (CIAF) lent $1.7 million; in
financial year 1970-71 the fund lent $5 million. In the late 1970s, Neville
Wran’s government obtained passage of the Country Industries (Payroll
Tax Rebate) Act 1977 which provided for payroll tax rebates for
manufacturing or processing firms outside Sydney. 53
During the early 1980s there was a global recession in the midst of which
there was a downturn in the Australian beef industry. In 1981 the Pict
frozen vegetable factory at Glen Innes and the Tancred Brother meatworks
in Tenterfield (each of which employed several hundred staff) ceased
operations. 54 Assistance to small firms, as a means to stimulate regional
employment, intensified. On an overall level, between the late 1960s and
the late 1980s, the CIAF lent $45 million to a substantial number of small
companies. 55 In 1989 the Greiner Government replaced the CIAF with the
Regional Business Development Scheme (RBDS). An original recipient of
RBDS assistance was the Tamworth Flying School (which received over $6
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million). In the early 1990s there was another global recession and, in the
mid-1990s, abattoirs in Gunnedah and Guyra closed: the meat works, in
both towns, being major employers with several hundred staff. 56 The
downturns led to high rates of unemployment in the region, as
demonstrated below:
Unemployment Rates: New England-North West (1986-1996)
1986
11.5%
1991
11.9%
1996
10.4%
57
The RBDS was maintained by the Carr Government which, at the
beginning of the twenty-first century, was contributing about $7.5 million a
year. 58
In more recent years, assistance (both at a federal and a state level) has
been relatively small-scale and predominantly targeted at stimulating
productive employment. In 2011, just under three years after the onset of
the global financial crisis (GFC), the Gillard Government launched the
Regional Development Australia Fund (RDAF): providing approximately
$200 million a year, over 5 years, for projects (nominated by RDA
committees) which would contribute to the economic development of a
region. Through the RDAF, RDA Northern Inland has obtained the following
amounts of federal funding for the following projects: $3.8 million for an
upgrade to the Thunderbolt’s Way tourist road between Uralla and
Gloucester; $500,000 for an upgrade to Glen Innes Airport (in preparation
for an aviation school); and $500,000 towards the redevelopment of the
Varley Oval in Inverell. 59
On a state level, in the early twenty-first century, Ramage Engineering
(Guyra) and G and C Engineering (Uralla), amongst other small firms, were
both provided assistance (by the NSW Department of State and Regional
Development) sufficient to create 3 more jobs per firm. 60 In 2011 the
O’Farrell Government established the Regional Industries Investment Fund
(RIIF). In 2012-13 the RIIF provided $4.8 million to 51 projects. Last year,
through the RIIF, the state contributed $1.6 million towards the Glen Innes
Airport aviation school. 61
Contrasting results have emerged from the CIAF and the RBDS. On the
one hand, there are firms (or undertakings) that have been assisted by the
RBDS and continue in operation: including the Tamworth Flying School,
Gunnedah Timbers, G and C Engineering, Nundle Woollen Mill and
Ramage Engineering. On the other hand, there are a number that have
been assisted by the RBDS and have since closed or relocated: including
Jakab Industries Pty Ltd (manufacturing buses and industrial caravans, in
Tamworth, and employing over forty workers in the 1970s) closing in 2002;
Ritec (a manufacturer of outdoor camping equipment which relocated to
Tamworth in 1974 eventually employing over 60 staff) but, in 2005, was
listed as a deregistered company; and Supercoat Petcare which was
assisted by the RBDS, in the late 1990s, to move from Sydney to Inverell
but, in 2008 (a year after its acquisition by Nestle), relocated to Blayney. 62
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
3.4 The Twentieth Century and into the Twenty-First Century
Regional Hubs. The outstanding feature of the New England-North West,
in the twentieth century, is the coalescence of the region into 2 servicesbased hubs (Tamworth and Armidale) and complementary rural
hinterlands. This is a manifestation of a general tendency in regional
economies, as described by David Kay and his colleagues:
in the regional economy. . .[there is a] shift. . .to service industries
involving food, health, recreation. . .along with retail and business
services. These service industries exhibit a strong combination of
forward and backward linkages and play a strong role in supporting
economic activity. . . 63
The development of services in Tamworth, through its interaction with its
hinterland, has been described by Roger Epps as follows:
[for] Gunnedah, Moree and Narrabri. . .services, including
electronics and electrical maintenance. . .equipment hire. . .
accounting and financial services are located at Tamworth and
cover the whole region. 64
Tamworth, by the mid-1960s, already had an employment base composed
predominantly of services workers:
Tamworth Municipality: Employment in Services and Manufacturing
(1966) 65
Services
7,000
Manufacturing
1,200
The Hunter Valley Research Service outlined the areas of services
employment in Tamworth, in 1966, as follows:
Federal Government. Federal government departments represented
included army, civil aviation, labour and national service, post-master
general (PMG), works, bureau of meteorology. 66
State Government. State government departments represented included
agriculture, child welfare, education, labour and industry, lands, main roads,
motor transport, public health, public works, police, railways, technical
education, valuer general and weights and measures. 67
Retail and Personal Services. 1,500 people were employed in this sector in
1966. 68
Transport. During the early years of the Second World War, the RAAF
established a flying school in Tamworth. In 1947, East West Airlines (EWA)
was established in Tamworth. By 1966, EWA was operating 5 aircraft and
flying regular services to 31 towns in NSW and Queensland. 69
Communications. In 1966, telephone communications where provided, from
Tamworth, by the PMG. Channel 9 had a regional station in Tamworth,
broadcasting to 30,000 homes. Tamworth’s main newspaper, the Northern
Daily Leader, had a circulation of 12,000. 70
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Finance and Insurance. 11 branches of the major banks collectively existed
in Tamworth in 1966, with 189 employees. 25 concerns dealt with
insurance, employing 177 staff.71
Armidale, similarly, functions as the regional hub of the New England area.
Planning Workshop Australia noted in 2008 that Armidale is the:
principal focus for retail, commercial, education and research
facilities. It also houses 65% of the. . .[New England] population. 72
As will be detailed in section 4 of this paper, services continue to dominate
regional employment in the 21st century.
Large Domestic and International Companies in Manufacturing. A key
feature of regional production, in the twentieth century, was the entry of
large domestic and international companies into manufacturing. A major
instance of domestic consolidation in the New England-North West is
Baiada. Small scale poultry production began, in the Tamworth area, during
the 1920s. By the 1950s, hundreds of small farmers, around Tamworth,
were producing 10% of the state’s poultry and 16% of the state’s eggs. 73 In
1964 the Baiada company established a processing plant in Tamworth. As
Epps and Henderson have pointed out, “During the 1960s the chicken meat
industry underwent a period of rapid growth. . .[in the course of which] the
Australian poultry industry has undergone a long run shift towards fewer but
larger poultry farms”. 74 At the same time, according to David Darvall and
Zoe de Saram, “Throughout the 1960s hundreds of growers. . .left the
industry as a consequence of intense competition and price cutting.” 75
Many (formerly) independent poultry farmers became contract growers.
Epps and Henderson wrote in 2000 that,
Chickens are commonly raised by contract. . .farmers. In exchange
for receiving day old chicks, feed, medicine, and a growers’ fee,
farmers supply their labour, land and capital in the form of sheds. . .
at no stage of production does the farmer own the bird. It is for this
reason that they are known as ‘growers’ rather than ‘farmers’. . . 76
Through acquisitions, in the twenty-first century, Baiada has emerged as
the second-largest poultry processor in Australia and the pre-eminent
poultry processor in the New England-North West. 77 In 2009, Baiada
acquired Bartter Chickens (which itself had acquired Steggles in 1999).
Baiada is a supplier to Kentucky Fried and provides Coles and Woolworths
with chicken products (under the Steggles and Lilydale brands). 78 In 201011 the New England-North West was responsible for 19.2% of NSW poultry
meat production. 79 Between 1986 and 2012-13, Baiada Tamworth’s weekly
production of poultry meat increased by 1,280%:
Baida (Tamworth): Weekly Poultry Meat Production (1986 – 2012/13) 80
1986
91.35 tonnes
2012/13
1,170 tonnes
In 2013, Baiada, according to PSA Consulting, “directly employs 750 full
time, part time, casual and contract employees. . .[an] estimated. . .85%
[637] of these are employed within the Tamworth LGA”. 81 To sustain its
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
operations, Baiada has established a stock feed mill (Tangaratta
Stockfeeds) which, in 2002, was intending to produce up to 520,000 tonnes
of stockfeed a year. 82
A second large domestic company that has grown in the New EnglandNorth West is Bindaree Beef. The company was founded in 1981 by John
McDonald and is based in Inverell. In 2013, Bindaree Beef processed 1,300
cattle a day and employed 600 people. The company is a major supplier of
beef to Aldi. 83 A third instance, of a large domestic company in the region,
is Thomas Foods International or TFI (headquartered in Murray Bridge).
TFI entered meat processing in Tamworth in 2010 by acquiring Peel Valley
Exporters (PVE): a lamb processing works. PVE was a major supplier to
Woolworths and, in 2004, employed 300 staff. TFI operates 4 meatworks
(in Queensland, NSW and South Australia) and is the third-biggest meat
processor in Australia. As well as being a large domestic company,
Thomas Foods has expanded overseas - taking a 50% interest in
Foodcomm International (a North American importer of Australian meat). 84
A prominent example of consolidation in regional manufacturing by
overseas companies is provided by Cargill (the world’s largest food
processor and manufacturer, and the largest privately owned company in
the USA, with 97,000 employees globally). 85 In 1967, Cargill established a
cotton oilseed crushing plant in Narrabri, supplying oil for commercial deep
frying. 86 In 1998 Cargill purchased (what had been) the Tamworth municipal
abattoir. John Lawrence wrote that:
the Cargill plant at Tamworth represents part of the supply chain to
Woolworths. . .Currently, 75 per cent of Tamworth product goes to
Woolworths, and Tamworth supplies 90 per cent of Woolworths
beef in New South Wales. 87
Cargill’s meat processing operations are allied to beef cattle grazing in the
region. In 2010 nearly a quarter of the state’s beef cattle (1 million out of 4
million) were on properties in the New England-North West. 88
In 2002, Cargill expanded further, forming a partnership with GrainCorp
(originally the Grain Elevators Board of NSW) which acquired Goodman
Fielder’s flour milling operations (known as Allied Mills including the Fielder
mill in Tamworth). Allied Mills immediately concluded a contract to supply
Goodman Fielder with flour for its bread and biscuits. The Tamworth mill
(which had employed hundreds of staff in the twentieth century) is currently
a smaller operation than its predecessor: processing, in 2004, 70,000
tonnes of wheat (2.8% of an Australian total of just over 2.5 million tonnes)
and employing between 50 and 75 FTE staff. 89 In 2009, Cargill moved into
a dominant position in Australian grain trading when it gained control of the
former Australian Wheat Board (AWB). 90 In the same year that it acquired
AWB, Cargill formed a partnership with Teys Brothers under which Teys
would operate the Cargill abattoir in Tamworth. As Brian Moir pointed out in
2011, “The second-largest group in Australian meat processing is Teys
Australia – a Cargill joint venture. . .[that now accounts] for 16 per cent of
Australia’s red meat slaughter.” 91 In 2013 the Tamworth operation of Joe
White Maltings or JWM (previously owned by ABB, the former Australian
Barley Board) was bought by Cargill from Glencore (after the latter acquired
the Canadian agribusiness Viterra which had previously purchased ABB in
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2009). JWM’s Tamworth plant, in 2008, produced 45,000 tonnes of malt
(9% of Australia’s output). 92
Domestic and Multinational Companies in Regional Agricultural and
Mining Activity. A prominent example of a regional domestic company,
engaged in agriculture-based activity, is (as referred to above) GrainCorp.
In 1989 (when Bob Hawke’s federal government deregulated domestic
prices for wheat), Nick Greiner’s NSW Government sold off the (formerly)
government-owned Grain Handling Authority or GHA (the former Grain
Elevators Board). GHA was acquired by the wheat grower group Prime
Wheat Association and (two years later) renamed GrainCorp: listing on the
stock exchange in 1998. 93 GrainCorp was a project of at least one largescale wheat grower in the New England North West. Ronald Greentree
(considered the biggest wheat farmer in Australia, with a 47,000 hectare
property north-west of Moree) was founding chair of GrainCorp and
remained in that position until 2005. In 2010 (through acquiring the
privatised Victorian Bulk Handling Authority and the privatised Queensland
State Wheat Board) GrainCorp had 270 storage facilities and, in that same
year, purchased 3 million tonnes of wheat from farmers. 94 As an adjunct to
its receival business, GrainCorp ventured into facilities at ports. Damon
Kitney and Sarah-Jane Tasker wrote that in 2014, as far as this area was
concerned,
Three large. . .companies dominate. . .CBH Group in Western
Australia, the Glencore Xstrata-owned Viterra in South Australia and
GrainCorp along the east coast of Australia. GrainCorp itself owns
seven of the 10 grain port terminals in NSW. 95
Another significant instance of a domestic company, entering large-scale
regional agricultural activity, is the Costa Group (CG). In 2005, CG (based
in Geelong) began production in Guyra of truss tomatoes in the largest
glasshouse in Australia (covering 5 hectares under one roof). Costa Group
invested $60 million in the operation which, by 2010, employed 250 people
and produced around 11 million kilograms of truss tomatoes per annum. 96
Multinational engagement, in regional primary production, has emerged
particularly in cotton growing. In the second half of twentieth century, the
use of wool in textile production continued to decline through the rise in use
of synthetics. 97 As returns from wool diminished and the number of
woolgrowers contracted, 98 cotton growing was inaugurated in the New
England-North West, assisted by successive state governments’
construction of two major dams: the Keepit Dam (opened in 1960) and the
Copeton Dam (opened in 1976). In 1961 the NSW Department of
Agriculture persuaded two American cotton farmers to embark on cotton
growing near Wee Waa. In 1963 another two American producers acquired
7,500 acres near Narrabri: forming a company (Auscott) which, in turn, subleased to 20 Australian cotton farmers. A year later, Auscott was purchased
by the American company J.G. Boswell. By 1967, 27 out of 60 cotton
growers, in the Narrabri area were American. As Brian Moir has pointed
out, “These growers had brought with them the technology of producing
cotton on a large scale, highly mechanised”. The opening of the Copeton
Dam inaugurated cotton production in the area around Moree. The storage
capacity was 1.36 million megalitres of water, capable of irrigating 50,000
hectares and in 1977 the first cotton crop was harvested in the Gwydir
Valley. 99 In the 1980s, the American company Dunavant (then the world’s
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
largest cotton merchant) built a gin at Moree with capacity of between
50,000 and 100,000 bales of cotton annually (one bale of cotton equalling
227 kilograms). Over the five decades since commercial cotton production
began in the state, NSW has become the national leader in cotton
production. In 2011-12, amongst NSW and Queensland (the only 2 states
that produce cotton), NSW produced a harvest of 581,000 tonnes
compared to Queensland’s 362,000 tonnes. 100 In 2013 the output from the
Gwydir cotton growing district (west of Moree), and the Namoi district
(Tamworth westwards to Walgett), was as follows:
Gwydir and Namoi Cotton Production: 2013 (approx.)
Volume
% NSW Production
101
% NSW-QLD Production
Gwydir
188,421 tonnes
29%
19%
Namoi
144,593 tonnes
22%
15%
In 2013 the Boswell operations covered 35,220 hectares and the company
owned cotton gins at Narrabri and Moree. As Simon de Garis has
observed, “The large-scale of these foreign owned properties is evidence of
the large capital outlays of the owners”. Like wool growing in the nineteenth
century, cotton growing is integrated into the world economy. NSW and
Queensland are, combined, the fourth largest exporting locality in the world.
30% of NSW/Queensland cotton goes to Indonesia and 20% is exported to
Japan. 102
Investment, from Japan, has been significant in cattle production. In 1988
Marubeni acquired what (had been) the 12,000 hectares Rangers Valley
sheep property north of Glen Innes. Between then and 2012, Marubeni has
developed the undertaking into a beef cattle feedlot carrying 32,000 head:
the fourth largest feedlot in Australia, employing 45 staff. 103
In recent years, cotton has become (by far) the most valuable item of
primary production in the New England-North West: followed by cattle
grazing and wheat growing. In financial year 2010-11 the value of these
three commodities, on a regional basis, was as follows:
New England-North West : Main Agricultural Commodities by Value (2010104
11)
Cotton
$800 million
Cattle
$438 million
Wheat
$398 million
Mining has also received substantial Japanese investment. Regional coal
mining continued during the twentieth century, concentrated in the
Gunnedah Basin, though on a relatively small scale. The Gunnedah
Colliery Company continued production during the twentieth century:
mining coal for the NSW railways and for the Tamworth power station. In
1917 the Preston Colliery was opened. During the 1970s the NSW
Department of Mineral Resources undertook the Boggabri - Maules Creek
Drilling Program, which first revealed the extensive potential of the
Gunnedah coalfield. 105 In 1986, Conzinc RioTinto of Australia (CRA) began
underground operations at the Vickery mine to produce coal for power
stations. Four years later, CRA commenced open cut operations at Vickery.
During the 1990s there was a downturn in the coal industry. The Preston
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NSW Parliamentary Research Service
and Vickery collieries closed in 1998 and the Gunnedah colliery closed in
2000 as the coal in the mines became exhausted. 106
In 2006, however, the Japanese company Idemitsu opened the Boggabri
Coal Mine which, by 2012, employed 400 FTE staff and produced 3.7
million tonnes of coal. 107
Innovation. To a limited extent, activity has emerged based on new
technology. In 1961, Howard Eastwood established Eastmon Group as a
small black-and-white photo developing business in Glen Innes. Over the
years, the business expanded into digital photography. During the 1990s,
Howard’s son (Hugh) took over management of the Rabbit Photo business.
In 2006 the Eastmon Group established Photo Create to service Australian
and New Zealand retailers such as Harvey Norman and Big W. By 2008 the
Eastmon Group serviced 5,000 digital printing centres. Eastmon currently
employs around 150 staff. By 2011, Eastmon became the largest digital
wholesale laboratory in the southern hemisphere. 108
4. KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
4.1 Value of Gross Regional Product
In 2011/12 the value of the New England-North West gross regional
product (the combined GRPs of the region’s 13 LGAs) was $7.7 billion:
approximately 1.7% of the state’s gross state product (GSP). 109
4.2 Businesses (including) Entries and Exits
In 2011 there were 19,796 businesses in the New England-North West.
There has been a slight a decline in the figures for firms operating in the
region, as indicated below:
Businesses in the New England-North West : 2007 - 2011
2007
19,878
2008
19,785
2009
19,701
2010
19,916
2011
19,796
110
There is a high prevalence of owner-operated firms, in the New England –
North West, as highlighted in the table below:
Businesses in the New England-North West (by Size): 2011
111
Owner-Operated
12,215 (62%)
Small Businesses (1-4 Employees)
4,464 (22%)
Medium/Large Businesses (5 or More Employees)
3,117 (16%)
Comparing 2008 with 2011 the number of business exits has exceeded the
number of business entries:
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
Business Entries in the New England-North West: 2008 – 2011
2008
2011
Owner-Operated
1,459
1,230
Small Businesses
558
495
Medium/Large Businesses
182
163
TOTAL
2,199
1,888
Business Exits in the New England-North West: 2008 – 2011
112
113
2008
2011
Owner-Operated
1,688
1,516
Small Businesses
385
331
Medium/Large Businesses
219
161
TOTAL
2,292
2,008
4.3 Employment and Unemployment
During 2012 the following numbers of people, on a 12-month average, were
employed and unemployed in the New England-North West:
Employed/Unemployed: New England-North West (Average 2012) 114
Employed
94,785
Unemployed
6,166
As shown in the table below, the unemployment rate in the New EnglandNorth West has steadily increased since the onset of the GFC. The
average unemployment rate in the region has been higher than
corresponding rates in both the state and across the nation:
Unemployment Rate (%): New England-North West/NSW/Australia:
2008-2013 115
Month/Year
New England-NW
NSW
Australia
September 2008
5.3%
4.9%
4.3%
September 2009
5.8%
5.4%
5.7%
September 2010
6.3%
5.2%
5.0%
September 2011
6.5%
5.4%
5.2%
September 2012
6.4%
5.9%
5.7%
September 2013
7.6%
5.6%
5.7%
On a long term-term basis, however, it appears that there has been a
gradual decline in unemployment in the New England North-West:
Unemployment Rates: New England-North West (1996 - 2006)
Page 15 of 33
1996
10.4%
2001
8.6%
2006
7.2%
116
NSW Parliamentary Research Service
The Brotherhood of St. Laurence, in a report issued this year, has
estimated the current unemployment rate amongst youth (15-24 year olds),
in the New England-North West, at 13.8%. 117
4.4 Employment by Sector
Set out in the table below is the breakdown of employment by industry for
the New England-North West. The figures are from the Australian Bureau
of Statistics 2011 Census. The following table shows the individual
significance of agriculture for the New England-North West, relative to the
State as a whole:
Employment by Industry: % New England-North West (NE-NW) and %
NSW Employment (2011) 118
Number
% NE-NW
% NSW
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
11,189
14.6
2.2
Health Care and Social Assistance
8,970
11.9
11.6
Retail
8,193
10.8
10.4
Education and Training
7,401
9.8
7.9
Accommodation and Food Services
5,043
6.7
6.7
Manufacturing
5,006
6.6
8.4
Building and Construction
4,947
6.5
7.3
Public Administration and Safety
4,316
5.7
6.1
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
3,342
4.5
4.9
Other Services
3,052
4.0
3.8
Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services
2,857
3.8
7.9
Wholesale
2,313
3.1
4.4
Administrative and Support Services
1,661
2.2
3.3
Financial and Insurance Services
1,460
1.9
5.1
Mining
1,129
1.5
1.0
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate
Services
885
1.2
1.6
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste
Services
810
1.1
1.1
Arts and Recreation Services
642
1.0
1.5
Information Media and
Telecommunications
627
0.8
2.3
Inadequately Described/Not Stated
1,696
2.3
2.5
4.6 Employment Growth Sectors
For comparison purposes, the source of figures employed in this e-brief is
the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2011 Census of Population and
Housing: NSW New England and North West Region (Table 33 Industry of
Employment by Sex). Table 33 contains figures for industry of employment
in 2001 as well as in 2011, thus allowing for a 10-year comparison.
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
Ranked in terms of absolute increase in employment, the biggest growth
sectors, in the decade from 2001 to 2011, are set out below. Growth in
employment is also expressed as a percentage. As well as identifying the
areas of employment growth over the last decade, this section points to the
key players and developments in several industries.
Health Care and Social Assistance. Between 2001 and 2011, health care
and social assistance experienced the biggest numerical increase of any
industry in the New England and North West:
Employment in Health Care and Social Assistance: 2001 - 2011
2001
6,743
2011
8,970
Increase
+2,227 (33%)
119
Between 2007 and 2011 there has been a 9% increase in the number of
establishments, in the New England-North West, operating in health care
and social assistance:
Health Care and Social Assistance (Establishments) in the New England120
North West: 2007 - 2011
2007
599
2008
612
2009
622
2010
649
2011
652
Health services in the New England-North West are provided by the Hunter
New England Local Health District (known as Hunter New England Health
or HNE Health). Within the New England-North West zone of HNE Health
there are 2 referral hospitals (Tamworth and Armidale); 6 district health
services (Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Inverell, Moree, Narrabri and Quirindi); 12
community hospitals (Barraba, Boggabri, Bingara, Emmaville, Guyra,
Manilla, Tenterfield, Tingha, Walcha, Warialda, Wee Waa and Werris
Creek); and 29 community health services. 121
In 2008 there were 4,671 people working in the health sector in the New
England North-West. 122 During 2008-09 (the last year of publication of the
NSW Health Services Comparison Data Book) there were 756 FTE staff at
Tamworth Base Hospital and 260 FTE staff at Armidale and New England
Hospital. There were the following FTE Staff at the other hospitals in the
region: Inverell (111); Moree (108); Gunnedah (75); Narrabri (75); Glen
Innes (56); Quirindi (34), Manilla (33); Warialda (26); Wee Waa (24);
Bingara (24); Guyra (13); Walcha (16); and Werris Creek (15). 123 The
Keneally and O’Farrell governments have contributed to the health care
industry in the region, with the Keneally Government pledging $41.7 million
for a regional cancer centre at Tamworth hospital and the O’Farrell
Government overseeing the completion of the centre in 2013. 124
There are approximately 48 aged care centres in the region: including
Tamworth (14); Narrabri (7); Moree (4); Uralla (4); Armidale (3); Inverell (3);
Gunnedah (3); Glen Innes (3); Guyra (3); Walcha (2); Tenterfield (1); and
Quirindi (1). 125 Challenger Disability Services, based in Tamworth, employs
247 full-time equivalent staff. 126
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NSW Parliamentary Research Service
Building and Construction. Between 2001 and 2011, the second highest
increase in employment occurred in building and construction:
Employment in Building and Construction: 2001 – 2011
2001
3,655
2011
4,947
Increase
+1,292 (35%)
127
Despite the increase in employment in building and construction, there has
been a 1% decrease in the number of construction firms:
Building and Construction (Establishments) in the New England-North West:
128
2007 - 2011
2007
2,417
2008
2,408
2009
2,391
2010
2,411
2011
2,382
In the period 2007 – 2011 there was an initial decline in the approvals for
commercially-provided houses but then a significant increase in 2010:
Building Approvals (Commercially-Provided Houses) in the New England129
North West: 2007 - 2011
Number of Houses
Value of Houses
2007
638
$130.9 million
2008
663
$144.9 million
2009
568
$129.9 million
2010
661
$157.7 million
2011
528
$132.8 million
In respect of non-residential construction, the record (between the 2007
and 2011) is mixed:
Building Approvals (Non-Residential) in the New England-North West: 2007 130
2011
Value of Non-Residential Construction
2007
$177.4 million
2008
$95.2 million
2009
$104.6 million
2010
$309.2 million
2011
$107.4 million
Education and Training. Between 2001 and 2011, education and training
experienced the third-highest increase of any industry in the Northern
Inland:
Employment in Education and Training: 2001 – 2011
Page 18 of 33
2001
6,378
2011
7,401
Increase
+1,023 (16%)
131
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
The region hosts (as mentioned above) 1 university (UNE) which currently
has 4,000 full-time students and 16,000 external students. There are
20,000 students enrolled at TAFE campuses at Armidale; Glen Innes;
Inverell; Moree; Narrabri; Quirindi; Tamworth; and Tenterfield. A total of 37
secondary schools serve the region: 27 government secondary schools;
five non-Catholic secondary schools; and five Catholic secondary schools.
There are 109 primary schools in the region: 80 government primary
schools; 20 Catholic primary schools; and 9 non-Catholic primary
schools. 132 According to the Tamworth Regional Council, in 2013 there
were 961 NSW Department of Education FTE staff in Tamworth alone. 133
The flying college at Tamworth has continued to expand. In 1999 the
Howard Government designated the college the service provider for the
Australian Defence Force Basic Flying School. Following the collapse of
Ansett (in 2001) the operation has been solely run by BAE Flight Training
Tamworth and it conducts training both for the RAAF and the Singapore Air
Force. 134
Mining. Although the number of people engaged in mining in the New
England-North West is relatively small, nevertheless between 2001 and
2011 the sector recorded the fourth-largest increase in regional
employment:
Employment in Mining: 2001 - 2011
135
2001
294
2011
1,129
Increase
+835 (284%)
Despite the closure of the Preston, Vickery and Gunnedah collieries
(between 1998 and 2000), on the basis of the exploration carried out by the
Department of Mineral Resources, new ventures came into existence in the
twenty-first century. In 1999 former managers of Namoi Coal (the company
that had operated the Gunnedah Colliery) established Whitehaven Coal. 136
Between 2000 and 2013, Whitehaven has become the biggest coal
producer in the Gunnedah basin: opening mines at Gunnedah, Maules
Creek, Narrabri, Rocglen, Tarrawonga, Vickery and Werris Creek. In 2013
the company employed 513 FTE staff and produced 6.6 million tonnes of
saleable coal. 137 As outlined above, Idemitsu’s operations at Boggabri have
similarly contributed to employment in mining.
Public Administration and Safety. Between 2001 and 2011, public
administration and safety experienced the fifth-highest increase in
employment:
Employment in Public Administration and Safety: 2001– 2011
2001
3,570
2013/14
4,316
Increase
+746 (21%)
138
Retail. Between 2001 and 2011, retail recorded the sixth-highest increase
in employment:
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NSW Parliamentary Research Service
Employment in Retail: 2001 – 2011
139
2001
7,573
2011
8,193
Increase
620 (8%)
Manufacturing. Between 2001 and 2011, manufacturing experienced the
seventh-highest increase in employment:
Employment in Manufacturing: 2001 – 2011
140
2001
4,766
2011
5,075
Increase
+309 (6%)
While there has only been an average increase of around 30 jobs a year in
manufacturing, in the New England-North West, the sector remains
resilient. Manufacturing, as outlined above, is integrated with the region’s
primary production. Tamworth Regional Council reported (in 2008) that:
Food manufacturing is the main type of manufacturing in Tamworth
and accounts for almost half of manufacturing jobs. 141
Manufacturing (linked to primary production) is also present in the smaller
towns in the hinterland outside Tamworth. The Manildra Group operates a
flour mill in Gunnedah (with a capacity to mill 234,000 tonnes of wheat a
year) employing 35 FTE staff. 142 A.I. Topper operates a leather tannery,
also in Gunnedah. 143
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services. Between 2001 and 2011,
electricity, gas, water and waste services recorded the eighth-highest
increase in employment:
Employment in Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services: 2001 - 2011
2001
522
2011
823
Increase
+301 (59%)
144
Transport, Postal and Warehousing. Between 2001 and 2011, electricity,
gas, water and waste services experienced the ninth-highest increase in
employment:
Employment in Transport, Postal and Warehousing: 2001 - 2011
2001
3,081
2011
3,380
Increase
+299 (10%)
145
There has been a 32% increase in passengers travelling through Tamworth
airport between 2006-07 and 2009-10:
Passengers Travelling through Tamworth Airport: 2006/07 – 2009/10
Page 20 of 33
2006/07
102,355
2009/10
135, 837
146
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
A significant number of road haulage companies also operate out of
Tamworth. SGS Economics and Planning has written that while “Tamworth
is a centre for large transport firms” it also hosts a “high proportion of owner
operators with small transport firms”. 147
Accommodation and Food Services. Between 2001 and 2011,
accommodation and food services recorded the tenth-highest increase in
employment:
Employment in Accommodation and Food Services: 2001 - 2011
2001
4,782
2011
5,001
Increase
+273 (6%)
148
On an absolute level, tourism activity in the New England-North West is
only a small proportion of the state’s total. As outlined by the Gunnedah
Economic Development Strategy, in the year ending March 2013:
the Northern Inland region attracted 1.394 million domestic visitors
who spent 4.258 million nights in the region. This represents 5.6%
of total domestic overnight visits made in NSW. . . 149
The Tamworth Country Music Festival is a core component of tourism in
the New England-North West. Chris Gibson and John Connell have written
that,
By 2011 the festival had a 10-day program, 2,400 events, 116
venues and nearly 1,000 artists with around 60,00 daily visitors.
Easily exceeding the capacity of local hotels and motels, visitors
stay up to a hundred kilometres away in regional towns, and 5,000
stay in residents’ spare bedrooms. . . 150
Although there has been a slight decline in visitors to Tamworth, between
2006 and 2010, there has been an increase in takings from
accommodation:
Guest Arrivals and Takings from Accommodation: Tamworth (2006 – 2010)
Guest Arrivals
151
Takings from Accommodation
2006
209,858
$18.6 million
2007
205,953
$19.2 million
2008
204,126
$20.4 million
2009
202,968
$22.8 million
2011
203,108
$23.4 million
Other Services. Between 2001 and 2011, other services recorded the
sixth-lowest increase in employment:
Employment in Other Services: 2001 - 2011
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152
2001
2,785
2011
3,050
Increase
+265 (10%)
NSW Parliamentary Research Service
According to the ABS, “Other Services” includes:
Automotive repair and maintenance. . .machinery repair and
maintenance. . .hairdressing. . .funeral, crematorium and cemetery
services. . .photographic film processing. . . 153
Part of the increase in “other services” employment would consequently be
attributable to the Eastmon Group’s expansion in Glen Innes.
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services. Between 2001 and 2011, rental,
hiring and real estate services recorded the fifth-lowest increase in
employment:
Employment in Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services: 2001 - 2011
2001
744
2011
897
Increase
+153 (21%)
154
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Between 2001 and
2011, professional, scientific and technical services recorded the fourthlowest increase in employment:
Employment in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services: 2001 155
2011
2001
2,772
2011
2,889
Increase
+117 (4%)
Financial and Insurance Services. Between 2001 and 2011, financial and
insurance services recorded the third-lowest increase in employment:
Employment in Financial and Insurance Services: 2001 - 2011
2001
1,349
2011
1,444
Increase
+95 (7%)
156
The slow growth in employment, in financial and insurance service, may
partly be attributed to a rationalisation of banking services. The NSW
Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources noted that,
In May 2002 the National Australia Bank decided to close 56 rural
branches across Australia. . .Between June and July of 2002,
Barradine, Boggabri, Manilla and Warialda lost their NAB
branches. 157
Arts and Recreation Services. Between 2001 and 2011, arts and
recreation services recorded the second-lowest increase in employment:
Employment in Arts and Recreation Services: 2001 - 2011
Page 22 of 33
2001
532
2011
627
Increase
+95 (18%)
158
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
Administrative and Support Services. Between 2001 and 2011,
administrative and support services recorded the lowest increase in
employment:
Employment in Administrative and Support Services: 2001 - 2011
2001
1,067
2011
1,675
Increase
+68 (4%)
159
4.6 Sectors of Declining Employment
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. Between 2001 and 2011, agriculture,
forestry and fishing recorded the highest loss in employment:
Employment in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: 2001 - 2011
2001
13,767
2011
11,061
Increase
-2,706 (-20%)
160
Between 2007 and 2011, 145 businesses were lost in agriculture, forestry
and fishing:
Businesses in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: 2007 - 2011
2007
7,621
2011
7,476
Decrease
-145
161
Wholesale. Between 2001 and 2011, the wholesale trade recorded the
second-highest loss in employment:
Employment in Wholesale: 2001 - 2011
162
2001
3,459
2011
2,370
Increase
-1,089 (-31%)
Within the wholesale sector, there has been a considerable rationalisation
of operations. Woolworths for instance, in 2005, opened a large regional
distribution (RDC) centre at Wyong, and now supplies the major towns in
the region from the RDC. 163
Information Media and Telecommunications. Between 2001 and 2011,
information media and telecommunications recorded the third-highest loss
in employment:
Employment in Information Media and Telecommunications: 2001 - 2011
2001
878
2011
632
Increase
-246 (-28%)
164
During 2007 and 2011, 5 businesses were closed in information media and
telecommunications:
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NSW Parliamentary Research Service
Businesses in Information Media and Telecommunications: 2007 - 2011
2007
65
2011
60
Decrease
-5
165
Since the 1990s there has been a considerable amount of rationalisation in
regional media. In the area of regional radio, the Keating government
deregulated the radio industry by amending the Broadcast Services Act
1942: lifting restrictions on the ownership of radio stations. Further
deregulation was introduced by the Howard government. In the particular
case of the New England North-West, this has allowed the Broadcast
Operations Group (owned by Bill Coralis) to acquire licences across the
region (in Tamworth, Armidale, Moree, Inverell and Gunnedah). On a
number of occasions, according to Harry Criticos, content for the stations
has been networked from Sydney. 166 Television in the region has also been
rationalised with Channel 7’s Prime TV (in Tamworth) announcing in 2012
that Prime’s weather announcer in Canberra would also deliver the news
bulletin for Tamworth. 167
5. CONCLUSION
The New England-North West region has experienced profound change
between the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Agriculture,
which has been (and still was in 2011) the biggest individual employing
industry, has gone through a fundamental transformation. Farmers
originally practised agriculture as a stand-alone activity: with government
(in the first half of the twentieth century) contributing to their independence
through marketing boards. As price reinforcement was removed, agriculture
transitioned into agribusiness in which production became integrated into
processing and retailing. Moreover, whereas agribusiness initially tended to
be the preserve of domestic companies, recent times have witnessed the
entry of large overseas companies. Agriculture across the region, in the
future, may become the preserve of overseas agribusinesses. In the
second half of 2012, Archer Daniels Midland (USA) firstly acquired a 14.9%
interest in GrainCorp and then increased its stake to 19.9%. The following
year, ADM made an outright takeover bid and was only deterred through
the intervention of government. Even now, in 2014, ADM has re-declared
its interest in fully acquiring GrainCorp. 168
Furthermore, as the region’s single biggest industry was undergoing a
significant transformation, the entire region experienced two major
downturns during the 1980s and the 1990s: causing unemployment to rise
to 11.5% in 1986 and then to 11.9% in 1991.
In its regional plan for 2013-2016, the RDA Northern Inland identified 6
priorities for the region:
Page 24 of 33
•
regional community regeneration and sustainable population growth
•
industry diversification, business growth and job creation
•
integrated and improved health care
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
•
investment in regional infrastructure, education and skills
•
social inclusion and engaging indigenous communities
•
environmental achievement and resource efficiency 169
Amongst all these priorities, the most fundamental would seem to be that of
industry diversification. According to Stephen Mason, within research on
regional development, there is a consensus that “a diverse regional
economy will enjoy a stable employment growth rate, with the diversity
acting to shield the regional economy”. 170 The decline in the unemployment
rate since the mid-1980s, to 7.6% in September 2013, appears to be a
outcome of the diversification of the regional economy: encapsulated in the
consolidation of the services sector. Stephen Mason has written that in
2001, according to his research, the major NSW regional urban centre,
“with the greatest measured level of industrial diversity was Tamworth”. 171
Activity in the region appears set to continue on the basis of the
consolidation of the services sector (incorporating the majority of employing
industries) in the region’s largest hub. In Tamworth the percentage of
people employed in the services sector in 2011, according to the research
group .id, was approximately 82%. 172 As in other regions of NSW the health
sector can be expected to grow with the ageing of the population. A key
challenge is to provide adequate and appropriate employment for young
people in the New England-North West as in many other regions.
1
According to the University of Sydney’s Workplace Research Centre, in a report produced
for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Standing Committee on Tertiary
Education, Skills and Employment, “For the purposes of workplace analysis and
planning, regions are predominantly defined according to the [new] ABS Statistical Area
Level 4 regions for New South Wales. This is because the SA4 level regions are used
across a vast range of statistical publications (including labour force data publications)”.
See Workplace Research Centre, University of Sydney, National Regional Workforce
Planning and Development Report (2013), p.64. For the SA4s in New South Wales see
ABS, Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 – Main Structure and
Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, ABS Catalogue 1270.0.55.001. See also NSW
Department Premier and Cabinet (DPC), New England – North West Regional Action
Plan (2012), p.4. In 2009 the Rudd Government launched a network of 55 Regional
Development Australia (RDA) Committees. See Kim Adams, Jeremy Buultjens and Brian
Dollery, “Enhancing Australian Regional Policy: A Conceptual Framework for Assessing
the Role of Regional Development Australia” in Space and Polity, vol.15, no.3, 2011,
p.243. The committee dealing with the area covering the New England-North West has
adopted the name “RDA Northern Inland” (RDANI). NSW Department of Trade and
Investment and Regional Infrastructure Services (DTIRIS) uses both “New EnglandNorth West” and “Northern Inland”. See the “Regional Profiles” section of the DTIRIS
website.
2
Alison Kingsland, “The Distribution of Farming in New South Wales” in the Review of
Marketing and Agricultural Economics, vol.18, no.2, 1950, pp.164-165.
3
ABS, Regional Population Growth: Australia, ABS Catalogue 3218.0. Data Cube:
Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2013), 2003 to 2013. Table 1.
Estimated Resident Population, Local Government Areas, New South Wales. For the 13
Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the ABS SA4 “New England – North West” see ABS,
Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Correspondences, Catalogue No.
1270.0.55.006: Local Government Area to Statistical Area Level 4 (Table 3).
4
ABS, n.3.
5
NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp), Tamworth Regional Council: Financial Assessment
and Benchmarking Report (2012), p.8; SGS Economics and Planning, Research Report
for the NSW Independent Local Government Review Panel, volume II, part 2, Supporting
Information (Sydney, 2012), p.419.
Page 25 of 33
NSW Parliamentary Research Service
6
AEC Group, Tamworth Region Key Industry SWOT Analysis (Sydney, 2008), appendix D.
NSW TCorp, Armidale-Dumaresq Council: Financial Sustainability Assessment and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.8; SGS Economics and Planning, n.5, p.414.
8
NSW Auditor General, Report to Parliament, vol.II, University of New England (2013),
pp.115, 121.
9
NSW TCorp, Inverell Shire Council: Financial Assessment and Benchmarking Report
(2013), p.8.
10
For employees at Bindaree Beef see the company’s website. For other, selected
employers, see the Inverell Business and Retail Guide: 2013.
11
NSW TCorp, Moree Plains Shire Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.9.
12
Information provided by Moree Plains Shire Council.
13
NSW TCorp, Narrabri Shire Council: Financial Assessment and Benchmarking Report
(2013), p.8.
14
See Narrabri Shire Council, Narrabri Shire Economic Zone.
15
NSW TCorp, Gunnedah Shire Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.10.
16
For selected employers see Gunnedah Business and Organisations Directory.
17
NSW TCorp, Glen Innes Severn Council: Financial Assessment and Benchmarking
Report (2013), p.8.
18
For selected employers see the Glen Innes Local Business Directory.
19
NSW TCorp, Liverpool Plains Shire Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.8.
20
Information provided by Liverpool Plains Shire Council.
21
NSW TCorp, Tenterfield Shire Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.8.
22
Information provided by Tenterfield Council. See also Regional Australia Development
(RDA) Northern Inland, RDANI Regional Plan 2010-2013, appendix 5 (Tenterfield).
23
NSW TCorp, Uralla Shire Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.10.
24
Information provided by Uralla Shire Council.
25
NSW TCorp, Gwydir Shire Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and
Benchmarking Report (2013), p.8; Gwydir Shire Council, A Gwydir Snapshot (2004), p.8.
26
Information provided by Gwydir Shire Council.
27
NSW TCorp, Guyra Shire Council: Financial Assessment and Benchmarking Report
(2013), p.8.
28
See “Industry and Agriculture” on the website of the Guyra Tourism and Commerce
Association.
29
NSW TCorp, Walcha Council: Financial Assessment, Sustainability and Benchmarking
Report (2012), p.9.
30
Information provided by Walcha Council. See also “Business Directory” on the website of
Walcha Council.
31
See “National Economic Indicator Services (NSW)” on the website of .id.
32
J.F. Walker, “Some Factors Affecting the Marketing of Wool in Australia, New Zealand,
the Union of South Africa, England and France” in the United States Department of
Agriculture Technical Bulletin, June 1929, p.3; C.J. King, “The First Fifty Years of
Agriculture in New South Wales” in the Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics,
vol.16, no.12, December 1948, p.167; John Ferry, Thematic History of the Parry Shire
(NSW Heritage Office, 1996), pp.27-29, 35; NSW Heritage Office, Regional History of
the Manning River, North Coast and New England (1996), p.76.
33
John Ferry, Colonial Armidale (University of Queensland Press, 1999), pp.55-56; Janis
Wilton, “Different Sights: Immigrants in New England” on the website of the UNE
Heritage Futures Research Centre.
34
F.H. Gruen, “Farm Size and Factors Influencing Farm Size with particular reference to
New South Wales” in the Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, vol.17, no.1,
1949, p.36.
35
R.B. Walker, “Improved Pasture in New England in the Nineteenth Century” in the Review
of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, vol.29, no.1, March 1961, p.27; C.J. King,
“Squatting and the 1847 Orders-in-Council” in the Review of Marketing and Agricultural
Economics, vol.25, no.3, September 1957, p.60; R.B. Walker, Old New England: A
7
Page 26 of 33
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
History of the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales 1818-1900 (Sydney University
Press, 1966), pp.42, 86.
36
Roger Milliss, City on the Peel: A History of Tamworth and District 1818 – 1976 (A.H. and
A.W. Reed, Sydney, 1980), p.84.
37
Bruce Davidson, “Rum Corps to IXL: Services to Pastoralists and Farmers in New South
Wales” in the Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, vol.60, no.3, December
1992, pp.313-314.
38
Milliss, n.36, p.149.
39
Davidson, n.37, p.314; Productivity Commission, Wheat Export Marketing Arrangements
(2010), p.57.
40
Walker, Old New England, pp.50, 90-94; NSW Heritage Office, n.32, pp.73-76; K.R.
Malloch, A.R. Mantaring, R.P. McEvilly, J. Moloney, V.N. Tadros, J.J. Watkins and L.A.
Wiles, Nandewar: Mineral and Petroleum Resources and Potential (NSW Department of
Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, Sydney, 2004), pp.34-53; Narrabri
Council, Assessment of Opportunities for Narrabri Shire from Coal Mining and Gas
Extraction in the Gunnedah Basin (2007), p.8; Damien Giurco, Leah Mason, Steve Mohr
and Tim Prior, Coal: Production Trends, Sustainability Issues and Future Prospects
(Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, 2013), p.8.
41
Walker, Old New England, pp.51, 97.
42
Milliss, n.36, pp.124, 156-157.
43
16 of the 19 basic divisions of industry (within the ABS standard industrial classification)
are considered as forming the services sector. These industry divisions are (in
alphabetical order) accommodation and food services; administrative and support
services; arts and recreation services; construction (including house building); education
and training; electricity, gas, water and waste services; financial and insurance services;
health care and social assistance; information media and telecommunications; other
services; professional, scientific and technical services; public administration and safety;
rental, hiring and real estate services; retail; transport, postal and warehousing; and
wholesale. The remaining three industry divisions are agriculture, mining and
manufacturing. See ABS, Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification
(ANZSIC), ABS Catalogue 1292.0 (2006), p.12; Ellis Connolly and Christine Lewis,
“Structural Change in the Australian Economy” in the Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin,
September 2010, p.2.
44
NSW Department of Main Roads, The Roadmakers: A History of Main Roads in New
South Wales (1976), p.32.
45
See Milliss, n.36, p.84; Ferry, n.33, p.63; “Self Guided Heritage Walk” (Armidale Visitor
Information Centre);
46
Bruce Mitchell and Jean Newall, “Schools” in Alan Atkinson, Iain Davidson, Andrew Piper
and J.S. Ryan (eds.), High Lean Country: Land, People and Memory in New England
(Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2006), pp.174-179; Milliss, n.36, pp.74, 103, 112; Ferry, n.33,
p.55.
47
Walker, Old New England, p.114; Milliss, n.36, p.75.
48
Milliss, n.36, pp.131-133.
49
Walker, Old New England, p.102; Milliss, n.36, p.160.
50
Rod Kirkpatrick, “How Newspaper Editors Helped the Country Become Politically
Articulate” in the Australian Journalism Review, vol.22, no.1, August 2000; Frank
Bongiorno and Andrew Messner, “New England” in Jim Hagan (ed.), People and Politics
in Regional New South Wales, vol.2, The 1950s to 2006 (The Federation Press, Sydney,
2006), p.154; Brian Pape, Submission to the Senate Select Committee on the Reform of
the Australian Federation (2011), pp.27-28.
51
G.S. Jolly and S.D. Robertson, “The NSW Marketing of Primary Products Act” in the
Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, vol.14, no.2, February 1946, p.44;
Milliss, n.36, p.230; R.B. McMillan, “Plans for the Wheat Industry”, in the Review of
Marketing and Agricultural Economics, vol.14, no.2, February 1946, p.48. By 1975 the
share of wool, in the combined global output of synthetic and natural fibres, was only
5.6%. See Frederick Clairmonte and John Kavanagh, The World in their Web: The
Dynamics of Textile Multinationals (Zed Books, London, 1983), p.27. For the
establishment of the Australian Wool Corporation (AWC) see Julian Roche, The
International Wool Trade (Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, 1995), pp.14-15. For the
abolition of the NSW Egg Board see ACIL Australia, Review of the System of Egg
Industry Regulation in New South Wales (Sydney, 1988), p.10; NSW Legislative
Assembly. Hansard. 26 July 1989, p.8536; Roger Epps and Steven Henderson, Urban
Page 27 of 33
NSW Parliamentary Research Service
Fringe Land Use: Two Poultry Case Studies (Rural Industries Research and
Development Corporation, Canberra, 2000), p.16. For the ending of the AWC see Wool
Industry Review Committee, Wool: Structuring for Global Realities (Australian
Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1993), pp.73-74. For the abolition of the
Australian Wheat Board see Linda Botterill and Geoff Cockfield, “Deregulating Australia’s
Wheat Trade: from the Australian Wheat Board to AWB Ltd” in Public Policy, vol.2, no.1,
2007, p.47; Foreign Agriculture Service (United States Department of Agriculture), Grain
Marketing in Australia (2013).
52
Adele Bentham, Linden Chalmers and Roy Powell, The Namoi Region Economy (Centre
for Agricultural and Regional Economics, Armidale, 2006), executive summary. As
outlined by Bentham et.al., the Namoi area incorporates localities from Tamworth
westwards to Walgett.
53
Kay Dixon and Charles Harris, Regional Planning in New South Wales since 1944 with
special reference to the Albury-Wodonga Growth Centre (Centre for Research on
Federal Financial Relations, Australian National University, Canberra, 1978), pp.26-30;
T. Cappie-Wood, “The Role of Policy in Regional Innovation and Adjustment”, paper
presented at the Regional Innovation and Economic Adjustment Conference, University
of Newcastle, 1978; NSW Auditor General, Department of State and Regional
Development: Provision of Industry Assistance (1998), p.39.
54
Bongiorno and Messner, n.50, p.152; Robert Garran, “Consequences of an Abattoir
Shutdown” in The Age, 23 January 1984, p.14; Simon McCarthy, “End of a Cold Era” in
the Glen Innes Examiner, 25 February 2014.
55
NSW Legislative Council. Hansard. 21 September 1988, p.1594.
56
Wal Murray MP (Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development). Press Release. 9
November 1989; Department of Business and Regional Development, Regional
Business Development Scheme (1993); Guyra Shire Council, Submission to the Inquiry
into Local Government and Cost Shifting (2002), p.3; Jenny Rand and Associates and
Suzanne Lollback, Gunnedah Economic Development Strategy, vol.1, Economic Profile
(2013), p.30.
57
Stephen Mason, Regional Unemployment Disparities and the Effect of Industrial Diversity
(MBA Thesis, Southern Cross University, 2011), p.147.
58
NSW Parliamentary Committee on State Development, Achieving Sustainable Growth:
Regional Business Development in New South Wales (1994), pp.128-133; Public
Accounts Committee (NSW Parliament), Industry Assistance (2001), pp.4, 73-74.
59
See Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Association International (ANZRSAI)
Newsletter, (April 2011); Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI),
Regional Plan: 2013-16 p.11.
60
See Tony Kelly MLC. Media Release. 25 November 2002. See also media releases
issued by the (then) Minister for Regional Development (Harry Woods) on 14 June 2002;
10 September 2002; 16 December 2002; and 18 December 2002.
61
See the NSW Government Response to the NSW Decentralisation Taskforce Report
(2013), p.11; Andrew Stoner MP. Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Services.
Media Release. Funding for Glen Innes Aerodrome Upgrade. 22 May 2013.
62
See NSW Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD), Regional First,
various issues between 1998-2004; Milliss, n.36, p.266; “Jakab Creditors to Miss Out” in
the Northern Daily Leader, 15 April 2002; ASIC, ASIC Gazette (April 2005); “Closure of
the Inverell Supercoat Petcare Facility” on the website of the New England Australia
Blogspot.
63
David Kay, James Pratt and Mildred Warner, “Role of Services in Regional Economy
Growth” in Growth and Change, vol.38, no.3, September 2007, p.437. Forward and
backward linkages were formulated by the economist Albert Hirschman during the
1950s. Forward linkages concern the contribution of an industry suppling inputs to
others. Backward linkages concern the impact of an industry as a demander from other
industries. See Kala Krishna and Cesar Perez, Unbalanced Growth (Pennsylvania State
University, 2004), p.2; Junning Cai, PingSun Leung and James Mak, Tourism’s Forward
and Backward Linkages (University of Hawaii, 2005), p.2.
64
Roger Epps, Survival of the Fitter? New Firms and the Competitive Advantage Imperative:
the Scenario in Two Inland NSW Regional Centres (PhD Thesis, University of New
England, 1999), p.149.
65
Hunter Valley Research Foundation (HVRF), City of Tamworth Regional Study, vol.3
(Newcastle, 1969), p.9.
66
HVRF, n.65, p.78.
Page 28 of 33
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
67
HVRF, n.65, p.78.
HVRF, n.65, p.78.
69
HVRF, n.65, p.80; Milliss, n.36, p.222.
70
HVRF, n.65, p.82.
71
HVRF, n.65, p.82.
72
Planning Workshop Australia, New England: Draft Development Strategy, p.5.
73
Leo Yorke, “The Table Poultry Industry in New South Wales” in the Review of Marketing
and Agricultural Economics, vol.20, no.2, June 1952, p.103; Ann Newling, “They Saw the
Rise and Fall of an Egg Empire” in the Northern Daily Leader, 26 October 2012.
74
Epps and Henderson, n.51, p.5.
75
David Darvall and Zoe de Saram, “Government Intervention in Agricultural Marketing: A
th
Case Study of the NSW Poultry Meat Industry”, paper presented to the 36 Annual
Conference of the Australian Agricultural Economics Society, Canberra, 10-12 February
1992.
76
Epps and Henderson, n.51, p.6.
77
See the “Rural Funds Goup: A Pure-Play Agricultural Real Estate Investment Trust” on
the Rural Funds Group website.
78
Andrea Insch, The Effects of Marketing Organisation on the Delivery of Added Value: An
Historical Comparison of Australia’s Beef and Chicken Marketing Systems (PhD Thesis,
Griffith University, 2005), pp.130, 241; “Bartter Steggles Acquisition” on the website of
Baiada; Baiada Pty Ltd, Australian Packaging Covenant: Three Year Plan (2011), p.2.
79
“About Us – History” on the website of Baiada; PSA Consulting, Environmental Impact
Statement: Strathfield Farm 5 Poultry Broiler Farm (Brisbane, 2013), pp.108-109 on the
website of Tamworth Regional Council.
80
PSA Consulting, n.79, p.108.
81
PSA Consulting, n.79, p.108.
82
See “Tangaratta Seeks More Work Hours” in the Northern Daily Leader, 7 October 2002.
83
Bindaree Beef, Submission to the NSW Legislative Assembly Economic Development
Committee (2013).
84
NSW Parliamentary Debates. Hansard. Legislative Assembly. 26 October 2004, p.11985;
T&R Pastoral. Media Release. T&R Group Acquires Country Fresh to Create Australia’s
Largest Family-Owned Mutton and Lamb Processing Company. 5 July 2010; T&R
Pastoral: Planning for Growth with NEC’s SV8100” on the website of NEC; Sue Neales,
“Processor Succeeds with Risks, 457 Visas” in The Australian, 27 March 2014, p.21.
85
Rabobank, Australian Agriculture in Focus (Sydney, 2002), p.2; WA Department of
Agriculture and Food, Overview of the Western Australian Wheat Flour Industry and
Potential Export Opportunities (2009), p.14.
86
See Ruth Holtzapffel, Hilary Johnson and Osman Mewett, GM Oilseed Crops and the
Australian Oilseed Industry (Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra, 2007), p.3;
Independent Review Panel, Review of the Moratorium on Genetically Modified Canola in
Victoria (Victorian Department of Primary Industries, 2007), p.19; Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Statement of Issues, Cargill Australia Ltd:
Proposed Acquisition of Goodman Fielder’s Commercial Fats and Oils Business
(Melbourne, 2010), p.2; “America’s Largest Private Companies” on the website of
Forbes; Brian Moir, Foreign Investment and Australian Agriculture (Rural Industries
Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, 2011), p.12.
87
Insch, n.78, p.108; John Lawrence, Quality Assurance ‘Down Under’: Market Access and
Product Differentiation (Iowa State University, 2002), p.10; Essential Economics,
Tamworth Regional Council: 2010 Economic Performance Report (Melbourne, 2011),
p.8.
88
Murray Darling Basin Authority, Proposed Basin Plan, vol.2, Technical Background
(Canberra, 2012), Appendix C - Irrigation District Community Profiles (Namoi Community
Profile), p.94.
89
Milliss, n.36, p.261; GrainCorp, Annual Report: 2002-03, pp.40-41; JRG Consulting
Group, Deregulation of Wheat and Barley Marketing in Australia and Potential
Application to Western Canada (JRG, Guelph, Ontario, 2005), p.126; Goodman Fielder.
Media Release. Goodman Fielder and Allied Mills Announce New Flour Contract. 30
November 2011. By 2012, Cargill-GrainCorp’s Allied Mills accounted for over one-third of
Australia’s production of flour. See GrainCorp, GrainCorp AGM Chairman’s Address
(2012); Information on employees at Allied Mills (Tamworth) provided by GrainCorp.
68
Page 29 of 33
NSW Parliamentary Research Service
90
S.M. Howden and P.J. Reyenga, “Global Change Impacts on Wheat Production along an
Environmental Gradient in New South Wales”, paper presented at the International
Congress on Modelling and Simulation, Australian National University, 10-13 December
2001; Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI), Regional Plan: 2010
(Appendix 1 – Northern Inland NSW Agricultural Statistics); Foreign Agricultural Service
(United States Department of Agriculture), Grain Marketing in Australia (2013).
91
Moir, n.86, p.30.
92
Cardno, Preliminary Environment Assessment: Proposed Malting Plant (Sydney, 2008),
p.1; Rob Wicks, “Change to the Malt Market”, presentation to the Australian Grains
Industry Conference, Melbourne, 29 July 2008; “Joe White Maltings” on the website of
Cargill.
93
JRG Consulting Group, n.89, p.51.
94
See Productivity Commission, Wheat Export Marketing Arrangements, pp.254-255; Alan
Winney, “A Changing Grains Industry: Where Will Globalisation and Consolidation Take
Us?”, presentation at the Australian Grains Industry Conference, Melbourne, 26-28 July
2010; Gina Rushton and Ben Wilmot, “Greentree Puts $200m Farm on the Block” in The
Australian, 11 April 2014, p.4; biography of Ronald Greentree on the website of Wheat
Quality Australia.
95
Damon Kitney and Sarah-Jane Tasker, “Call to Overhaul ‘Inefficient’ Ports” in The
Australian, 28 March 2014, p.17.
96
Costa Group. Media Release. Australia’s Largest Glasshouse Opens in Guyra. 17
November 2005; Costa Group, Submission to the House of Representatives Standing
Committee on Regional Australia (2010), p.1. Information on tomato production provided
by Costa Group.
97
By 2010 the share of wool in apparel fibres, had fallen even further: to 3%. See Food and
Agriculture Organisation, (FAO), World Apparel Fibre Consumption Survey (Rome,
2013), p.4.
98
In 2001, according to Lewis Kahn and Nick Reid, the New England area “supported. . .
3,815,000 sheep and lambs and produced 13,924 tonnes of wool or 2% of the national
output.” See Lewis Kahn and Nick Reid “Land and Livelihood” in Atkinson, n.46, p.71. By
2004-05, New England accounted for only 3.4% of the national sheep flock. See Hassall
and Associates, The Structure and Dynamics of Australia’s Sheep Population (Dubbo,
2006), p.6.
99
Murray Darling Basin Authority, n.88, p.820; Moir, n.86, p.12. Lisa Yu-Ting Lee, writing in
2007, pointed out that, “More than 84% of Australian cotton is grown under irrigation,
which accounts for about 1,819 GL of agricultural water use in 2004-05. . .This
represents 18% of irrigation water use in Australia, making it the second largest
consumer of water following pasture for grazing (28.7%).” See Lisa Yu-Ting Lee,
Efficient Water Allocation in A Heterogeneous Catchment Setting (PhD Thesis,
University of Sydney, 2007), p.95.
100
Brian Davidson and Peter Vidler, “The Identification of Research Issues in the Australian
rd
Cotton Industry”, paper presented to the 33 Annual Conference of the Australian
Agricultural Economics Society, Christchurch, 7 – 9 February 1989; ABS, Principal
Agricultural Commodities: Australia, ABS Catalogue 7111.0 (Crops), 2012. In 2009,
Dunavant was taken over by Louis Dreyfus (Netherlands). See International Cotton
Advisory Committee, Structure of World Cotton Trade (December 2009), p.2.
101
Namoi Cotton Co-operative Ltd, Annual General Meeting and Meeting of Capital
Stockholders: 2013.
102
Simon de Garis, “The Cotton Industry in Australia: An Analysis”, paper presented to the
th
19 Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference, Melbourne, 13-16 January
2013.
103
See Richard Eldershaw, “How Genetics Can Be Used to Improve Profitability through the
Supply Chain”, paper presented at the Bayer and Bioniche Beef Cattle Genetics
Conference, Rockhampton, 6-7 May 2012; “Rangers Valley – Grain Fed Beef” on the
website of Vic’s Meat Australia; “Don Mackay – Rangers Valley Cattle Station” on the
website of Target 100/AgForce.
104
Bill Binks, Kristen Corrie, Ian Frakes and Peter Martin, Agriculture and Forestry in the
New England and North West Region of New South Wales: 2013 (Australian Bureau of
Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra, 2013), p.3.
105
N.Z. Tadros, Structure and Techtonics of the Gunnedah Basin, NSW: Implications for the
Stratigraphy, Sedimentation and Coal Resources, with emphasis on the Upper Black
Jack Group (PhD Thesis, University of Wollongong, 1995), p.22.
Page 30 of 33
The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
106
RTZ CRA, The Unification of the RTZ Corporation PLC and CRA Limited (RTZ CRA,
Melbourne, 1994), p.116; Planning NSW (Resource and Conservation Division), Mineral
and Petroleum Resources and Potential: NSW Western Regional Assessments (2002),
p.13; Olsen Environmental Consulting, Sunnyside Coal Project, introduction (Newcastle,
2008), p.1-13.
107
Hansen Bailey, Boggabri Coal Mine: Project Approval Modification Environmental
Assessment (Singleton, 2012), p.1.
108
See NSW Parliament. Hansard. Legislative Assembly. 27 September 2006; NSW
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities,
Key Issues for Further Investigation (2008), p.12; “About Us” on the website of Photo
Create; “HP Indigo Digital Presses Help Photo Create Reach the Pinnacle of OnDemand Personalised Fulfilment Operations in Australia”; National ICT Australia,
Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and
Communications (2011), p.22.
109
See “National Economic Indicator Services (NSW)” on the website of .id. Statistics for
NSW gross state product taken from ABS, Australian National Accounts: State Accounts
2012-13, ABS Catalogue 5220.0, pp.11, 13.
110
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
111
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
112
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
113
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
114
Data provided by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and
Sport (DRALGAS).
115
See “Employment – Unemployment Rate” in the “Data” section of the federal
government’s “MyRegion” website; Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations (DEEWR), Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan: New South
Wales – Northern Inland (DEEWR, Canberra, 2013), p.13; ABS, Labour Force: Australia
(Detailed), ABS Catalogue 6291.0.55.001. Table 16 (Labour Force Status by Regions
and Sex).
116
Mason, n.57, p.147.
117
See “My Chance, Our Future”, appendix A, p.3 on the website of the Brotherhood of St.
Laurence.
118
ABS, 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Community Profiles – Time Series
Profiles: New South Wales; New South Wales (New England – North West). Table 33
(Industry of Employment by Sex). The Labour Market Information Portal or LMIP
(prepared by the Department of Employment) now produces information at an SA4 level.
There are currently employment by industry figures, for the New England and North
West, as at February 2014, based on a four quarter average (see “New England and
North West” on the LMIP). These figures, however, are based on the ABS Labour Force
Survey (ABS) which, in turn, is based on samples. As the ABS states, in the explanatory
notes to its catalogue Labour Force, Australia (6202.0), “The Labour Force Survey is
based on a multi-stage area sample of private dwellings (currently approximately 29,000
houses, flats, etc.) and a list sample of non-private dwellings (hotels, motels, etc.), and
covers approximately 0.33% of the civilian population of Australia aged 15 years and
over.” Robert Dixon has added that, “To derive labour force estimates for the entire
population in the scope of the survey, expansion factors (weights) are applied to the
sample responses.” See Robert Dixon, “Australian Labour Force Data: How
Representative is the ‘Population Represented by the Matched Sample’?” in the
Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol.12, no.2, 2001, p.3.
119
ABS, n.118.
120
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
121
Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI), Regional Plan: 2013-16
(Annexure 1 – Regional Profile Northern Inland NSW).
122
Report on the Audit of Health Workforce in Rural and Regional Australia (Department of
Health and Ageing, Canberra, 2008): Chapter 2 (Rural and Regional Health Workforce
Audit), Attachment D (Employed Persons in Health Related Occupations - New South
Wales).
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NSW Parliamentary Research Service
123
NSW Health Services Comparison Data Book: 2008-09 (2010), pp.51, 54, 65, 68, 71, 74,
90, 93, 98, 102, 105, 108.
124
Hunter New England Health, Annual Report: 2011-12, p.19; Hunter New England Health,
North West Cancer Centre Update ((2012).
125
See Aged Care Service List - NSW on the website of the federal department of health.
126
Information provided by Tamworth Regional Services.
127
ABS, n.118.
128
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
129
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
130
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
131
ABS, n.118.
132
DEEWR (Office of Regional Education, Skills and Jobs), Regional Education, Skills and
Jobs Plan 2012-14: Northern Inland (Canberra, 2012), pp.10, 12; “TAFE Locations” on
the website of NSW DEC International.
133
Information provided by Tamworth Regional Council.
134
To70 Aviation, Tamworth: Aeronautical Study (Nelson Bay, 2010), p.10.
135
ABS, n.118.
136
Narrabri Council, n.40, p.33.
137
Whitehaven Coal Limited, Full Year 2013 Results; Whitehaven Coal Limited, “The
Gunnedah Basin”, presentation to the Hunter Business Chamber Lunch, Newcastle, 15
November, 2013; Whitehaven Coal Limited, “A Growth Company”, presentation to the
UBS Australian Iron Ore and Coal Conference, Sydney, 27 November 2013.
138
ABS, n.118.
139
ABS, n.118.
140
ABS, n.118.
141
Essential Economics, n.87, p.8.
142
Information provided by the Manildra Group.
143
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, A.I. Topper and Co. Pty Ltd –
Completed Acquisition of Tannery in Gunnedah Operated by New Wave Leathers Pty
Ltd (Melbourne, 2009).
144
ABS, n.118.
145
ABS, n.118.
146
Essential Economics, n.87, p.16.
147
SGS Economics and Planning, Tamworth Regional Economic Development Strategy:
Stage 2 (Sydney, 2010), p.36.
148
ABS, n.118.
149
Gunnedah Economic Development Strategy, vol.1, p.127.
150
Chris Gibson and John Connell, Music Festivals and Regional Development in Australia
(Ashgate, Farnham, 2012), p.162.
151
Essential Economics, n.87, p.15.
152
ABS, n.118.
153
ABS, Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification second edition, ABS
Catalogue 1292.0 (2006), 64.
154
ABS, n.118.
155
ABS, n.118.
156
ABS, n.118.
157
NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, Population Change
in the New England North West Region (2005), p.23.
158
ABS, n.118.
159
ABS, n.118.
160
ABS, n.118.
161
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
162
ABS, n.118.
163
See Woolies News, Autumn 2006.
164
ABS, n.118.
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The New England-North West Region: An Economic Profile
165
ABS, National Regional Profile: New England and North West (2007-2011), Catalogue
No. 1379.0.55.001.
166
Harry Criticos, “From Deregulation to Regulation: A Change for the Better for Regional
Radio?”, paper presented to the Australia and New Zealand Communications
Association Conference, Adelaide, 4 - 6 July 2012.
167
See “Prime Time in Canberra” on the website of the ABC.
168
See GrainCorp, GrainCorp AGM Chairman’s Address (2012); Judith Ireland and Brian
Robins, “Treasurer Joe Hockey Rejects GrainCorp Takeover Bid by ADM” in the Sydney
Morning Herald, 29 November 2013; Jacob Bunge and Sarah Kent, “ADM Eager to
Increase Stake in GrainCorp” in The Australian, 3 April 2014, p.23.
169
RDANI, Regional Plan: 2013-16, p.6.
170
Mason, n.57, p.174.
171
Mason, n.57, p.169
172
See .id, Tamworth Regional Council: 2011 Census Results, p.41.
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